Austin Cindric convincingly won Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio, leading 46 of 75 laps to earn his second straight win a week after he claimed his first career Xfinity victory at Watkins Glen.
Cindric led the final 13 laps and beat Christopher Bell by 3.7 seconds for the win. A native of Columbus, Ohio, the win comes at his home track.
The Team Penske driver won from the pole and is the first Xfinity regular to win back-to-back races this season. He’s also the ninth driver to earn their first two career wins in back-to-back races.
“It feels so good,” Cindric told NBCSN. “Hell of a job to Christopher Bell, great job keeping me honest all day. Man, it feels good. Two in a row. ... Going for three at Bristol. I’ll probably go crazy if I win there. We got a little work to do to figure that place out.”
The top five was completed by AJ Allmendinger, Tyler Reddick and Noah Gragson.
Team Penske has now won two races in a row after going winless in the previous 28 races.
STAGE 1 WINNER: Chase Briscoe
STAGE 2 WINNER: Jack Hawksworth claimed the stage win after passing Christopher Bell just before a caution came out on a restart with four laps to go.
More: Race results, point standings
WHO HAD GOOD RACE: After earning a stage win, Jack Hawksworth went off track at least once in the final stage and finished 15th in his first career NASCAR race ... Noah Gragson earned a top five after having his front and rear bumpers mangled in a Lap 36 crash ... Christopher Bell earned his best career finish on a road course. He has finished second in the last three races and in the top three in the last six races.
WHO HAD A BAD RACE: In his first NASCAR start, Chris Dyson was eliminated when he rammed into the back of Cole Custer’s car on a restart in Stage 2. Custer’s car was unharmed … Scott Heckert brought out a caution with 19 laps left when he plowed into a tire barrier ... Regan Smith finished 21st in his first start of the year after an incident with Lawson Aschenbach with 11 laps left.
WHAT’S NEXT: Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway at 7:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 16 on NBCSN